Release mechanism

ABSTRACT

A release mechanism generates a force on a cable to operate an adjustment mechanism or the like in a seat or other device. The release mechanism includes a rotor, a housing, a spring, and a cover that attaches to the housing. The spring generates a torque, and the spring also axially biases the rotor into engagement with the cover to prevent rattling.

CROSS-REFERENCE TO RELATED APPLICATION

This application is a Continuation-In-Part of U.S. patent applicationSer. No. 13/315,797, filed Dec. 9, 2011, and entitled “RELEASEMECHANISM,” the entire disclosure of which is incorporated herein byreference.

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION

Seats for motor vehicles and the like may include one or more adjustmentfeatures such as a seat back tilt mechanism that selectively retains theseat back in a position selected by a user. The seat may includeadditional adjustment features such as fore-aft sliding of the seatrelative to the vehicle floor, and other such adjustment features.Various types of mechanisms have been developed to retain the seatcomponents in a desired position. Such mechanisms may be actuated by acable that is connected to a manually-operated release mechanism by anelongated cable. Also, elongated cables may be utilized to operablyinterconnect a lever or other release member located inside a vehicle toa component such as a hood release latch. Various mechanisms for manualuser input have been developed. However, known mechanisms may sufferfrom various drawbacks.

BRIEF SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION

One aspect of the present invention is a release mechanism of the typeutilized to shift an elongated connector to selectively release anadjustment mechanism. The release mechanism includes a housing defininga pivot element, and a rotor disposed within the housing and pivotablyengaging the pivot element for rotation about an axis. The rotor isadapted to be manually rotated by a user, and the rotor includes aconnecting feature that provides for connecting an end of an elongatedflexible cable to the rotor, such that rotation of the rotor shifts theelongated flexible cable. The release mechanism also includes a helicalcoil spring having a first end connected to the housing, and a secondend connected to the rotor. The coil spring is rotationally deformed torotationally bias the rotor for rotation in a first direction about theaxis, and the coil spring is also compressed, and biases the rotoraxially away from the housing along the axis.

The housing may include a separate cover that snaps onto a main portionof the housing during assembly. The housing and rotor can be utilized ineither a “left hand” or “right hand” orientation. The housing and rotormay be symmetrical about a center plane, and the direction of therotational bias of the rotor can be changed by selecting a helical coilthat generates either a clockwise or counter clockwise torque on therotor. Also, the housing may include connecting features whereby a cablecan be interconnected to the housing of the release mechanism at eitherof two opposite side faces of the housing.

The release mechanism may include a rotation-limiting feature such as aboss on the rotor and corresponding arcuate slot on the housing to limitrotation of the rotor relative to the housing. During assembly, therotor is rotated against the spring bias relative to the main portion ofthe housing, and the rotor is shifted axially to move the boss into thearcuate slot. Friction between the boss and a side surface of thearcuate slot prevents shifting of the rotor that could otherwise occurdue to the axial bias of the helical coil spring.

These and other features, advantages, and objects of the presentinvention will be further understood and appreciated by those skilled inthe art by reference to the following specification, claims, andappended drawings.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

FIG. 1 is a partially fragmentary side elevational view of a motorvehicle seat or the like including an adjustment mechanism and a releasemechanism that is interconnected to the adjustment mechanism by anelongated cable;

FIG. 2 is a top plan view of a release mechanism according to one aspectof the present invention;

FIG. 3 is a front elevational view of the release mechanism of FIG. 2;

FIG. 4 is an exploded isometric view of the release mechanism of FIG. 2;

FIG. 4A is an exploded isometric view of the release mechanism of FIG. 2showing the spring in an uncompressed state;

FIG. 5 is a partially exploded isometric view of the release mechanismof FIG. 2;

FIG. 6 is a partially fragmentary enlarged, isometric view of a portionof a release mechanism according to one aspect of the present invention;

FIG. 7 is a partially fragmentary, enlarged isometric view of a portionof a rotor of a release mechanism according to one aspect of the presentinvention;

FIG. 8 shows a coil spring according to one aspect of the presentinvention in an uncompressed state;

FIG. 9 shows the spring of FIG. 8;

FIG. 10 is an end view of the spring of FIG. 8; and

FIG. 11 is an enlarged, fragmentary view of a portion of the spring ofFIG. 10.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF EMBODIMENTS

For purposes of description herein, the terms “upper,” “lower,” “right,”“left,” “rear,” “front,” “vertical,” “horizontal,” and derivativesthereof shall relate to the invention as oriented in FIG. 1. However, itis to be understood that the invention may assume various alternativeorientations, except where expressly specified to the contrary. It isalso to be understood that the specific devices and processesillustrated in the attached drawings, and described in the followingspecification are simply exemplary embodiments of the inventive conceptsdefined in the appended claims. Hence, specific dimensions and otherphysical characteristics relating to the embodiments disclosed hereinare not to be considered as limiting, unless the claims expressly stateotherwise.

With reference to FIG. 1, a seat assembly 1 includes a seat portion 2and a back portion 3 that is pivotally interconnected to the seatportion for fore-aft tilting movement as indicated by the arrow “A.” Areleasable adjustment mechanism 4 selectively retains the back portion 3at various positions B, B1, B2 etc. An adjustment mechanism 4 may bepositioned on both the left and right sides of the seat 1. A supportstructure 5 interconnects the seat assembly 1 with a vehicle floor 6.The support structure 5 may include slides or the like (not shown) thatpermit movement of the seat assembly 1 in a fore-aft direction relativeto the floor 6 of a vehicle as indicated by the arrow “C.” The seatportion 2, back portion 3, adjustment mechanism 4, and support structure5 may comprise conventional, known components such that these parts willnot be described in detail herein

A release mechanism 10 is operably interconnected to the adjustmentmechanism 4 by an elongated cable 11. The release mechanism 10 includesa movable input member such as a handle 12 that is movable as indicatedby the arrow “R” by a user to selectively release adjustment mechanism 4to permit tilting of the seat back 3.

With further reference to FIGS. 2-4 and 4A, mechanism 10 includes ahousing having a first portion 14 and a second portion or cover 16 thattogether form an interior space 18. When assembled, a rotor 20 isrotatably interconnected with a boss or protrusion 22 of housing 14 forrotation about an axis “A1” (FIG. 4). As discussed in more detail below,a spring 25 includes a first end 26 that is interconnected to housing14, and a second end 28 that is interconnected with rotor 20 torotationally bias the rotor 20 relative to housing 14 for rotation aboutan axis “A1.” Rotor 20 includes an arm 34 having an end portion 36 thatincludes first and second connecting features 30A and 30B (cavities)that interconnect with a fitting 32 of cable 11 whereby rotation ofrotor 20 longitudinally shifts the cable 11 and releases adjustmentmechanism 4. The arm 34 is substantially symmetrical such that eitherconnecting feature 30A or connecting feature 30B can be utilized toconnect with a cable end fitting 32. In the illustrated example, the endfitting 32 is received in connector 30A to thereby pull on cable 11 uponrotation of rotor 20 in the direction of the arrow “R1.” An end portion11A of cable 11 wraps around curved end surface 37 of arm 34. Endsurface 37 may include a relatively flat central portion 37A having areduced radius about axis Al to provide increased force on cable 11 asit wraps around central portion 37A. Cable end fitting 32 may bereceived in connecting feature 30B such that rotation of rotor 20 in adirection opposite the arrow “R1” pulls on cable 11 to actuateadjustment mechanism 4. The direction of rotational bias provided byspring 25 may be reversed if connecting feature 30B is utilized tothereby provide the proper rotational bias for a particular application.A bushing or fitting 38 includes an annular groove 39 that engages aselected one of the openings 40A-40D of sidewall 41A or 41B of housing14 to slidably support cable 11 where it enters housing 14.

Rotor 20 includes a generally cylindrical extension 42 having aplurality of teeth or splines 44 that engage corresponding teeth orsplines 46 on an interior portion of extension 47 of handle 12 in aknown manner to interconnect rotor 20 and handle 12. A pair oftransverse slots 48 receive a clip or other retainer (not shown) toretain handle 12 to rotor 20 in a conventional manner.

Housing 14 includes a plurality of wedges 52 that protrude fromsidewalls 41C, 41D, and 41E. Wedges 52 are received in openings 53formed in transverse flaps or extensions 54 (see also FIGS. 2 and 3).The wedges 52 and corresponding connectors 53-54 retain cover 16 onhousing 14 prior to installation of the release mechanism 10 on a seatassembly 1. Threaded fasteners 56 (FIG. 3) are received in openings 57in housing 14 and cover 16 (FIGS. 2 and 3) and engage threaded openingsin the seat structure to secure the release mechanism 10 to the seatassembly 1. Fasteners 56 also ensure that housing 14 and cover 16 remainassembled together when mechanism 10 is attached to the seat assembly 1.

With further reference to FIG. 5, arm 34 of rotor 20 includescylindrical extension 64. Housing 14 includes a ridge or sidewall 60that protrudes from inner surface 58 of sidewall 59 of housing 14. Whenassembled, extension 64 is received in arcuate slot 62, and spring 25rotatably biases extension 64 towards end surface 66 or end surface 68of arcuate slot 62. Spring 25 may be configured to rotatably bias rotor20 in a first direction R1, or a second direction that is opposite R1,depending upon which direction handle 12 is required to rotate whenrelease mechanism 10 is installed on a seat or other structure. Forexample, in FIG. 1 mechanism 10 is mounted on a left side of a seat 2,and handle 12 rotates upwardly when the handle 12 is pulled by a user.However, mechanism 10 may also be installed on a seat at a lower rightside edge whereby the mechanism 10 is rotated 180 degrees about ahorizontal axis relative to the orientation shown in FIG. 1. Ifmechanism 10 is configured for use on a right side edge of a seat, thespring 25 is configured to provide a bias in the opposite rotationaldirection, and cable 11 will be configured to extend out of an oppositesidewall of housing 14. Because the mechanism 10 is substantiallysymmetrical (other than spring 25) about a center plane “P” (FIG. 2)Cable 11 is oriented in either the configuration shown in FIG. 2 insolid lines, or in the configuration shown in dashed lines 11A as alsoshown in FIG. 2.

With further reference to FIG. 6, housing 14 includes an annular wall 70protruding from inner side surface 58 of sidewall 59 of housing 14. Aninner side of sidewall 70 includes a plurality of raised portions orpads 72 having cylindrical end surface portions 73. A ring-like annularspace 76 is formed between boss 22 and cylindrical sidewall 70. Aplurality of protrusions 74 project into annular space 76 from sidewall59. A plurality of grooves 77 are formed between protrusions 74. Grooves77 extend radially away from boss 22. When assembled, end 26 (see alsoFIG. 5) of spring 25 is received in a selected one of the grooves 77 tothereby rotationally retain the spring 25 relative to housing 14.

The protrusions 74 also define convex cylindrical outer surfaces 78 thatface the concave cylindrical surfaces 73 of pads 72 of cylindricalsidewall 70. When assembled, the space between surfaces 73 and 78receives end portion 80 (FIG. 7) of rotor 20. End portion 80 of rotor 20includes a cylindrical inner side surface 81 that defines a cylindricalcavity or space 83. End portion 20 also includes a cylindrical outersurface 82. When mechanism 10 is assembled, end 28 (see also FIG. 4) ofspring 25 is received in a selected one of a plurality of openings 85 ininner base surface 84 of cavity 83. An opening 86 in rotor 20 has ahexagonal shape to receive a hexagonal tool (not shown) during assemblyof rotor 20 and housing 14 to control the rotational position of rotor20 relative to housing 14.

During assembly, end 26 of spring 25 (FIGS. 4 and 4A) is positioned in aselected slot 77 (FIG. 6) of housing 14, with a portion of spring 25being disposed between cylindrical sidewall 70 and boss 22 of housing14. Spring 25 is initially in an uncompressed or “free” state whereinthe individual coils of spring 25 are spaced apart as shown in FIGS. 4A,8 and 9. Rotor 20 is then moved to a position adjacent housing 14, suchthat end 28 of spring 25 is received in a selected one of the openings85 of rotor 20. Rotor 20 is then rotated relative to housing 14 using ahexagonal tool (not shown), such that spring 25 generates a torsionalbias or force between housing 14 and rotor 20. Rotor 20 is then shiftedaxially along axis Al (FIG. 4) to position end portion 80 of rotor 20 onthe boss 22 of housing 14. End portion 80 of rotor 20 is received in thespace 76 (FIG. 6) between surfaces 73 of pads 72 and the end surfaces 78of protrusions 74. As the rotor 20 is moved into position relative tohousing 14, protrusion 64 (FIG. 5) of rotor 20 is positioned in arcuateslot 62 of housing 14. After the extension 64 is positioned in arcuateslot 62, the torsional force acting on rotor 20 by the hexagonal tool isremoved, and the torsional force caused by spring 25 causes extension 64on arm 34 of rotor 20 to move into engagement with end 66 (or end 68) ofarcuate slot 62. As rotor 20 is moved into position relative to housing14, spring 25 is compressed in addition to being rotationally deformed.This causes spring 25 to generate an axial force tending to push rotor20 away from housing 14. However, friction between extension 64 and end66 (or 68) of arcuate slot 62 is sufficient to prevent the axial biasfrom shifting rotor 20 relative to housing 14. When compressed, thecoils of spring 25 are in contact with one another or directly adjacentone another as shown in FIG. 4.

After the temporary subassembly of housing 14 and rotor 20 is formed.Bushings 38 are assembled with housing 14, and end fitting 32 of cable11 is positioned in connector 30A or connector 30B of arm 34 of rotor20. It will be understood that these operations may be performed eitherbefore rotor 20 is installed in housing 14, or after rotor 20 isinstalled in housing 14. Cover 16 is then snapped onto housing 14 andretained thereon by wedges 52 and openings 53.

Referring back to FIG. 4., After the cover 16 and housing 14 areassembled, spring 25 shifts rotor 20 towards cover 16 slightly, suchthat annular bearing surface 90 of extension 42 of rotor 20 slidablyengages an annular bearing surface 88 formed around opening 89 of cover16. The engagement of bearing surfaces 88 and 90 prevents rattling ofrotor 20 when installed to a seat, yet permits some variation in thesizing of the components.

When assembled, outer surface 82 (FIG. 4) of end 80 of rotor 20 slidablyengages surface 73 (FIG. 6) of housing 14, and outer surface 92 ofextension 42 of rotor 20 slidably engages surfaces or pads 94 (FIG. 4)of opening 90 in cover 16.

During assembly, handle 12 is positioned on extension 42 of rotor 20,and a clip or other retainer (not shown) is positioned in engagementwith transverse slots 48 of extension 42 to thereby retain the handle12.

Because the rotor 20 can be temporarily assembled with housing 14, rotor20 does not need to be retained in position relative to housing 14 by afixture or the like while cover 16 is installed. Thus, assembly ofrelease mechanism 10 is simplified. Also, as discussed above, the axialbias of spring 25 ensures that the bearing surface 90 of rotor 20remains in sliding engagement with the corresponding bearing surface 88of cover 16. The bearing surfaces 88 and 90 may comprise low frictionmaterials, such that very little frictional resistance is generated.This permits spring 25 to have a relatively low torsional stiffness toreturn handle 12 to the rest position.

With further reference to FIGS. 8-11, spring 25 may comprise a helicalcoil spring having a wire diameter of 1.14 mm with 10 coils. The coilsmay have a right hand or left hand wind direction as required to providea right or left hand version of mechanism 10. The spring 25 has a freeor unstressed length “L1” of 28.5 mm. In general, the length L1 may beabout 23.0 mm to about 33.0 mm. However, lengths L1 outside this rangemay also be utilized if required for a particular application. Duringassembly, an axial force “F” is applied to the spring 25 as described inmore detail above. This results in a compression of spring 25 to aninstalled length “L2” of 14.65 mm. Thus, the deflection of spring 25when installed is about 13.85 mm.

The overall length “L3” of spring 25 in an unstressed or free state is34.34 mm as shown in FIG. 8. The inner radius “R” is 1.40 mm, and theouter diameter “D2” (FIG. 10) is 11.15 mm. The spring 25 may includestraight portions 26A and 28A directly adjacent the ends 26 and 28,respectively. The inner dimension “D1” (FIG. 10) is 8.72 mm, and theoutside diameter “D2” is 11.15 mm. With reference to FIG. 11, the angle“θ2” is 142.4°. Ends 26 and 28 extend at an angle “θ1” of 90°. Spring 25is preferably made of spring steel or other suitable material such asmusic wire (ASTM A228), and the spring 25 has a maximum solid height of12.65 mm. The specific dimensions given above are an example of onepossible configuration for spring 25. However, the specific dimensions,shapes, materials, and other characteristics of spring 25 may vary asrequired for a particular application. For example, mechanism 10 may beutilized in connection with different types of seats requiring differentforce characteristics to release adjustment mechanism 4 (FIG. 1) orother such mechanism. It will be understood that the specific dimensionsof the mechanism and spring 25 may vary as required, and the releasemechanism 10 of the present application is not limited to any specificapplication.

As discussed above, the installed length L2 of spring 25 is greater thanthe solid height or length of spring 25. Accordingly, when spring 25 isinstalled in mechanism 10 spring 25 is in a compressed state. Whenspring 25 is in the compressed (installed) state, the spacing betweenthe individual coils of spring 25 is reduced, and spring 25 generates abiasing force tending to expand the length of spring 25. As discussedabove, this biasing force insures that bearing surface 90 of rotor 20remains in sliding engagement with corresponding bearing surface 88 ofcover 16.

As also discussed above, mechanism 10 may be assembled by temporarilyassembling rotor 20 with housing 14, with friction between extensions 64and end 66 (or end 68) of arcuate slot 62 to generate frictionsufficient to prevent axial bias of spring 25 from shifting rotor 20relative to housing 14. Alternatively, mechanism 10 may also beassembled as follows. First, housing 14 may be positioned in a fixture(not shown) or otherwise retained in a generally horizontal orientationwith interior space 18 (FIG. 4) facing upwardly. Spring 25 is thenpositioned over boss 22, and shifted (if required) to cause end 26 ofspring 25 to engage one of the grooves 77 (FIG. 6) of housing 14. Therotor 20 is then positioned on spring 25 such that spring 25 is receivedwithin cylindrical cavity or space 83 of rotor 20 (FIGS. 5 and 7), andend 28 of spring 25 is engaged with one of the openings 85 (FIG. 7) ofrotor 20. The arm 34 of rotor 20 is initially oriented as shown in solidlines in FIG. 4A. This initial position is rotated 180° relative to theassembled orientation of arm 34 shown in dashed lines in FIG. 4A. Theassembled orientation of arm 34 is also shown in solid lines in FIG. 4.After placing the rotor 20 onto the spring 25, cover 16 is positioned onrotor 20 with extension 42 of rotor 20 extending through opening 89 ofcover 16. A hex tool (not shown) is positioned in hex opening 86 (FIG.7) of rotor 20, and the rotor 20 is then rotated 180° until it is in theassembled rotational orientation (FIG. 4). Rotor 20 may be rotationallyconstrained due to engagement of extension 64 on arm 34 of rotor withend 66 or 68 of arcuate slot 62. Alternatively, rotor 20 may beconfigured to temporarily engage cover 16 to prevent rotation of rotor20 during the assembly process. After the cover 16 is positioned overrotor 20 and rotor 20 is rotated to its assembled angular orientation,the housing 14 and cover 16 are pushed together and interconnectedutilizing wedges 52 and openings 53 as described in more detail above.

Due to the axial compression (deflection), spring 25 generates about 24Nof axial force when assembled. This axial force biases rotor 20 awayfrom housing 14, and into engagement with cover 16. Also, when assembledthe rotational deflection or deformation of spring 25 causes the spring25 to be preloaded such that it generates a torsional force of about 250N-mm. Thus, when assembled spring 25 simultaneously generates asubstantial axial biasing force and a substantial torsional biasingforce.

The axial force/bias acting on rotor 20 ensures that the rotor does notrattle, and substantially eliminates noises from vibrations or the like.Furthermore, spring 25 has a longer length than conventional torsionsprings utilized in prior mechanisms. The longer length allows spring 25to have a lower torsional spring constant, thereby reducing the springbiasing force acting on the handle 12 (FIG. 1) for a given springdisplacement. The total force required by a user in moving (rotating)handle 12 includes force required to overcome the torsion of spring 25and the force required to actuate adjustment mechanism 4. Thus, reducingthe torsional force generated by spring 25 reduces the total force auser must apply to handle 12 to actuate adjustment mechanism 4.

It is to be understood that variations and modifications can be made onthe aforementioned structure without departing from the concepts of thepresent invention, and further it is to be understood that such conceptsare intended to be covered by the following claims unless these claimsby their language expressly state otherwise.

What is claimed is:
 1. A release mechanism of the type that shifts anelongated connector to selectively release an adjustment mechanism, therelease mechanism comprising: a housing defining a pivot element; arotor pivotably engaging the pivot element for rotation about an axis,wherein the rotor is adapted to be manually rotated by a user; andwherein the rotor includes a connecting feature that provides forconnecting an end of an elongated flexible cable to the rotor such thatrotation of the rotor shifts the elongated flexible cable; and a helicalcoil spring having a first end connected to the housing, and a secondend connected to the rotor, the coil spring being simultaneouslycompressed and rotationally deformed and simultaneously axially biasingthe rotor axially away from the housing along the axis and rotationallybiasing the rotor for rotation in a first direction about the axis. 2.The release mechanism of claim 1, wherein: the rotor includes a cavity;the pivot element comprises a boss that is received in the cavity torotatably interconnect the rotor and the housing; and the helical coilspring is disposed inside the cavity of the rotor.
 3. The releasemechanism of claim 2, wherein: the housing includes a firstspring-connecting structure, and the rotor includes a secondspring-connecting structure; and the coil spring comprises a helicalwire coil having a plurality of coils that are disposed around the boss,and includes a first end engaging the housing and a second end engagingthe rotor and generating a rotational bias.
 4. The release mechanism ofclaim 2, wherein: the rotor includes a central portion having acylindrical inner surface defining the cavity; the boss includes acylindrical outer surface that is spaced apart from the cylindricalinner surface to define an annular gap therebetween; and the coil springis disposed in the annular gap.
 5. The release mechanism of claim 1,wherein: the housing includes first and second portions that are spacedapart to define a gap, and wherein the rotor defines a central portiondisposed in the gap, and wherein the spring biases the central portionof the rotor away from the first portion of the housing towards thesecond portion of the housing, and wherein the rotor slidably engagesthe second portion of the housing.
 6. The release mechanism of claim 5,wherein: the housing comprises a first sidewall and an outer sidewallextending transversely from the first sidewall to define a cavity havingan open side, and wherein the second portion of the housing comprises acover closing off at least a portion of the cavity.
 7. The releasemechanism of claim 6, wherein: the cover includes an openingtherethrough, and wherein the rotor includes an internal portiondisposed in the cavity and an elongated extension extend from theinternal portion outwardly through the opening to define an externalportion.
 8. The release mechanism of claim 7, wherein: the externalportion includes a handle extending in a direction that is transverse tothe axis.
 9. The release mechanism of claim 8, wherein: the externalportion comprises a plurality of outwardly facing teeth, and wherein thehandle comprises a separate component having a plurality of inwardlyextending teeth engaging the outwardly facing teeth.
 10. The releasemechanism of claim 7, wherein: the housing includes a generally annulargroove extending around the boss, and the rotor includes an end portionmovably disposed in the groove.
 11. The release mechanism of claim 1,wherein: the housing includes a first retaining feature; the rotorincludes a second retaining feature; and the first retaining featureengages the second retaining feature such that the rotor does not shiftaxially out of engagement with the housing due to the bias of the coilspring unless an external force is applied to the rotor to axially shiftthe rotor to disengage the first and second retaining features.
 12. Therelease mechanism of claim 11, wherein: the rotor is axially movablerelative to the housing between first and second axial positions, andwherein axial movement of the rotor relative to the housing from thefirst position to the second position disengages the first and secondretaining features such that the first and second retaining features donot restrict rotation of the rotor relative to the housing when therotor is in the second position relative to the housing.
 13. The releasemechanism of claim 12, wherein: the rotational bias of the coil springcauses the second stop surface to be biased into contact with the firststop surface.
 14. The release mechanism of claim 13, wherein: the firststop surface comprises an end surface of an arcuate slot of the housing;and the second stop surface comprises an extension of the rotor that isdisposed in the arcuate slot when the rotor is in the first axialposition, and wherein the extension is disposed outside of the arcuateslot when the rotor is in the second axial position.
 15. A releasemechanism of the type that shifts an elongated connector to selectivelyrelease an adjustment mechanism, the release mechanism comprising: ahousing; a rotor pivotably engaging the housing for rotation about anaxis, the rotor having a generally hollow central portion defining acavity, and wherein the rotor includes a connecting feature thatprovides for connecting an end of an elongated flexible cable to therotor such that rotation of the rotor shifts the elongated flexiblecable; and a coil spring having a first end connected to the housing,and a second end connected to the rotor, wherein a plurality of coils ofthe coil spring are disposed within the cavity of the rotor, and whereinthe spring is rotationally deformed to rotationally bias the rotor forrotation in a first direction about the axis.
 16. The release mechanismof claim 15, wherein: the housing includes a boss that is received inthe cavity to rotatably interconnect the rotor and the housing.
 17. Therelease mechanism of claim 16, wherein: the hollow central portionincludes a generally cylindrical inner surface defining the cavity. 18.The release mechanism of claim 17, wherein: the boss comprises agenerally cylindrical outer surface that is spaced apart from thecylindrical inner surface of the rotor to define an annular spacetherebetween, and wherein the spring comprises a helical coil springthat is disposed in the annular space.
 19. The release mechanism ofclaim 15, wherein: the housing defines first and second side portionsand a space between the first and second side portions, and wherein atleast a portion of the rotor is disposed in the space; the coil springis compressed and generates an axial force biasing the rotor away fromthe first side portion of the housing towards the second side portion ofthe housing.
 20. A release mechanism, comprising: a housing having firstand second portions; a rotor pivotably engaging the housing for rotationabout an axis; and a spring defining a first length when the spring isin a free state wherein the spring is not compressed or stretched, andwherein the spring is in a compressed state when assembled in therelease mechanism to define a second length that is substantiallyshorter than the first length, the spring biasing the rotor axiallyalong the axis away from the first portion of the housing towards thesecond portion of the housing.
 21. The release mechanism of claim 20,wherein: the spring comprises a coil spring that torsionally biases therotor in addition to axially biasing the rotor.